However, there is nothing to suggest Cleary's goal was any more clutch or more important than any of the Wings other goals. So we can learn from this box score that the GWG isn't meant to convey clutch or importance. So what is the purpose of the GWG stat and what information is it meant to provide us?

One team scores 2, so the other team needs to score 3 to win. If they score 5, it just pads the stats. You only need to score one more goal then your opponent to win.

That is correct. Winning 1-0 nets you just as much a victory as winning 5-0. But it does little to explain why the GWG stat exists. Since we know through the Wings/Wild example that the GWG stat isn't meant to measure clutch or importance, it raises the question of what it is meant to measure.

That is the significance to the GWG stat. It states who hot the one goal needed to win the game. That easy.

In the case of the Wings/Wild game, which single goal was needed to win the game? Since the Wild scored one, doesn't that mean the Wings need two goals to win the game? If true, then they needed more than one goal to win the game.

Well, ultimately, if a player is credited with a GWG, it means they broke a tie in the game. Whether it was a goal in OT or the first goal past a time in a blowout, said player is ultimately the one who broke the stalemate that resulted in the final score.

While it's certainly a 'just for fun' stat to some extent, I think if a player has a relatively high # of GWGs as compared to their goalscoring pace, it can say something about them.

If some bored artist wants to make me a signature, feel free to cut loose and do so.

Well, ultimately, if a player is credited with a GWG, it means they broke a tie in the game. Whether it was a goal in OT or the first goal past a time in a blowout, said player is ultimately the one who broke the stalemate that resulted in the final score.

Are you sure? If you're right, then Zetterberg must have gotten the GWG - despite the stat sheets which say that Cleary was awarded the GWG. Furthermore, according to the NHL's official website, Cleary would get credited with the GWG.

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like plus-minus, i think the GWG stat is easily altered by fluke effects, but isn't entirely meaningless. sure, you're going to have situations like this one with cleary where he just happened to end up in the right spot in the goal-scoring order. then you have, say, OT winners or goals that break a late tie that are obviously deserving of the GWG stat.

i suppose you could make more complicated requirements -- like, for example, a GWG HAS to actually break a tie after which the other team doesn't score. so, in the example given by OP, no one would get a GWG because zetterberg broke a tie but cleary had the goal that put the winning team up by one goal. you'd have a lot less GWGs, but it would be a more telling stat, maybe. still, if dude breaks a 0-0 tie a minute in to the game and his team goes on to win 5-0, it still wasn't a "clutch" goal -- he just got lucky because his goalie got a shutout.

like i said, i feel the same way about GWG as i do about plus-minus -- you have to take the stat with a large grain of salt, but that doesn't mean it's completely worthless.

GWG should only be used if the goal is scored in OT, or the last goal in the last few minutes of the game that puts your team ahead. Maybe put a stipulation for the goal along the lines of last 3-5 minutes of the game, and game must be tied when goal is scored (obvi). The goal must also be the winner.

I def agree that the GWG in the first period is garbage, and no way shows the clutch factor in the player.